GUSTAVO MINAS
All rights reserved © Gustavo Minas
Gustavo 'Minas' (Cássia, MG, 04/11/1981). Currently living between São Paulo and Brasília.
Gustavo Minas was born in Cássia (MG, Brazil) in 1981. He graduated in journalism from the State University of Londrina and studied language and history of photography with Carlos Moreira in São Paulo. Since 2009, he has photographed the daily life of the cities where he lives. In 2017, his 'Bus Station' series won the POY LATAM award in the category "The Future of the Cities” and was exhibited at the Centro de Fotografía de Montevideo. He’s a member of Burn my Eye collective. His first book "Maximum Shadow, Mininal Light" was released in May 2019, with a solo exhibition at Freelens Galerie em Hamburg. In 2021, his work was featured at the show "Common Life Utopias", at Brazil's Pavillion at the 17th International Architecture Exhibition (La Biennale di Venezia). He currently works as a journalist and freelance photographer in Brasilia.
FRENTE FRIA / LA HAVANA
Can you give us a short description of your series “Frente Fria”?
GM: Sure, I call it Frente Fria in Havana actually. In January 2018, I decided to take a trip to Cuba alone, to dedicate myself exclusively to photographing Havana and Trinidad for 10 days. It was my first time on the island, and of course I was attracted by the long tradition of photography made there, as well as the possibility of being able to photograph freely in a place where there's so much life going on in the streets.
“ It was cloudy most of the time, so I didn’t have that dramatic warm light I usually work with all the time, and this made me pay attention to other things, such as textures, body language and a certain melancholy”
Is there anything meaningful to you or your subjects about “Frente Fria”? Why are you calling these series this way?
GM: I was there in early January, and I wasn't aware that temperatures could be so low in the island. I mean, it's not as cold as Europe or even the South of Brazil, but it was cold enough for someone who had brought just a thin sweater and a pair of jeans. The thing is that, that week, a strong cold front was coming from Florida, and the island was colder than usual, and of course it completely broke my expectations about Havana and my way of photographing.
Compared to other projects you’ve developed, we notice a strong use of a cold palette for these photographs. What drives the use of colors for these selections?
GM: I didn't choose it deliberately, but I guess that these colors just reflect how I was feeling there. It was cloudy most of the time, so I didn't have that dramatic warm light I usually work with all the time, and this made me pay attention to other things, such as textures, body language and a certain melancholy, not usually associated with Cubans.
What was your interest in Havana? What motivated you to develop a visual narrative there ?
GM: As I've mentioned, the long tradition of photography made there, as well as the possibility of being able to photograph freely in a place where there's so much life going on in the streets. Walking the streets late at night felt very safe, and we know this is not always the case being in Latin America. I did little, if any, research, I didn't have an agenda, I didn't look for the boxing gyms of the ballet schools, I wanted the journey to be as random as possible. When I came back home, I looked at my files and realised that, if there was any narrative, it should be about this certain melancholy I felt, partly due to the cold, partly for being alone - though I did talk a lot with the Cubans, especially in the local bars where I'd hide from the wind.
“ looked at my files and realised that, if there was any narrative, it should be about this certain melancholy I felt, partly due to the cold, partly for being alone”
Cuba, particularly Havana, has been the epicenter of the photographic Caribbean imaginary during the 90's--- photographers like Harvey and the Webbs represented their cuban interpretation to the world. Do you find any similarities between previous projects made in Cuba with yours?
GM: Of course they were big influences in my decision to visit Cuba, and I love the work they made there, with vibrant colors, beautiful decay, joy and plenty of life on the streets. But because of the cold, and of course because of the passing of time, the reality I found there was a bit different. No sun drenched streets, no big parties… I ended up spending a lot of time inside the bars with the locals, dressed in heavy jackets. They were very curious about Brazilian politics, I was very curious about Cuba, and we talked a lot. After some time, they'd forget about my presence with a camera and I could photograph freely. They were very eager to tell their stories too, and I made a couple of good one-night friends this way. In the end, I like the fact that my pictures are somehow different from what I expected. If life gives you lemons… but of course I want to come back in a sunnier season, to see more of Havana and also of the countryside.
All rights reserved © Gustavo Minas
